By Ray King
A $250,000 cash only bond was set Wednesday for a Pine Bluff man currently on parole who is accused of beating a pregnant woman, then cutting a still-born infant out of her and burying it in a yard.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Sylvester Brown, 48, with first-degree battery and abuse of a corpse.
Reading from a probable cause affidavit by Detective Sgt. Keith Banks, Deputy Prosecutor Joe West said on July 3 in the early morning hours, police responded to the area of 12th Avenue and Spruce Street in response to a report that a pregnant woman had been beaten up and locked in an abandoned house.
West said crime scene personnel came to the house where they dug up the remains of a small baby which was first sent to the Jefferson County Coroners Office then to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for further analysis.
A BOLO was issued for Brown, and he was taken into custody on Monday. He was taken to the Detective Office where he was questioned.
West said Brown has a criminal history which dates back more than 20 years with convictions for first-degree battery, second-degree battery and residential burglary. He is on parole and listed as an absconder and an alias warrant was issued for him when he failed to appear for a jury trial in October 2023.
He was ordered to have no contact with the victim and told to come back to court Aug. 7.
